Dairy Farmer articles from June 2007

Dairy Farmer archives from June 2007

COMMENT: Just the beginning.
June 7, 2007... What a turn up when the industry finds itself in the rare position where liquid prices are being pushed, and pushed hard, by of all things the commodity market. The big rush for milk powder seems to have put the frighteners on milk buyers...

Producers start to benefit from bullish markets for powder.
June 7, 2007... Retailers usually pay the highest price for liquid milk, but even the giddy heights of 23p being paid by Waitrose and the 22p being talked about by Tesco are currently being put in the shade by the most unlikeliest of markets - milk powder. ...

Tesco gets local choice underway.
June 7, 2007... Amid industry scepticism, Tesco has launched its `localchoice' regional milk in 650 stores. Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, East Anglia, North East, South East, South West and Heart of England and...

DCD press for rise for June milk.
June 7, 2007... Despite intense negotiations, Dairy Crest Direct (DCD) failed to convince Dairy Crest of the need for a June price rise. "DCD has enjoyed a good relationship with Dairy Crest, but we feel that our market related contract is now only working...

United Dairy Farmers hits high.
June 7, 2007... With butter/powder prices continuing their ascent, United Dairy Farmers milk auction for May averaged 23.02ppl - 5.65ppl up on May'06 and the highest average price for over 11 years. Of the 53m litres sold, 49m litres of three-month contracts...

Vets launch new herd health website.
June 7, 2007... Vets Peter Orpin and Dick Sibley have announced a web-based health planning package through which they aim to bring cattle health information from a range of sources through to one portal. And one of the driving forces for the website is the...

RABDF Princess Royal Award.(David Handley and wife receive RABDF Princess Royal Award )(Brief article)
June 7, 2007... Milk price campaigner David Handley and his wife Marilyn receive the RABDF Princess Royal Award from Her Royal Highness at a Buckingham Palace presentation. David farms 100 pedigree Jerseys in Monmouthshire and has spent the best part of the...

Positive month for two co-ops.(J Sainsbury PLC chooses The Cheese Company to supply Sainsbury products)(Brief article)
June 7, 2007... Milk Link's The Cheese Company won a contract to supply Sainsbury's, and will set-up a Sainsbury's Producer Group as part of the deal. The move is significant because it is indicative that the retailers are discussing segregated supply for...

NFU and RABDF warn that producers fall 3.5ppl short.
June 7, 2007... It now costs 21.32ppl to produce a litre of milk, according to the NFU and RABDF. In contrast, the Defra farmgate milk price from April 2006 to February 2007 was 17.90ppl, stretching the loss making differential to nearly 3.5ppl. Costs of...

I am fearful that it's a case of too little coming too late.(prices and rates of dairy products concerning economic condition of dairy farmers)
June 7, 2007... Despite the slight improvement in the milk price, John Trunch maintains this has already been swallowed up in farm cost increases and a price of 27ppl would be nearer the mark. Jam tomorrow folks, jam tomorrow. Perhaps I am a cynic but my...

Cowmen comment: How many cows do you think there are on Mars?
June 7, 2007... With the global warming debate coming increasingly to the fore, Pat Bird wonders how long it will be before cow emissions start to grab the headlines. Recycling is the new religion with global warming its messiah - although global `change'...

Cowmen comment: I am sure weather forecaster has no more idea than me!
June 7, 2007... Despite all the modern approaches to weather forecasting, our Scottish correspondent Donald McColm is beginning to believe he would be as well, if not better, off sticking with an old fir cone. Up here we're bang in the middle of first cut...

Potter's View: Does the Tesco deal really deliver what it says on tin?
June 7, 2007... How much of a producer's milk will be classed `local' and secure 23ppl, how many milk miles will it clock up on its journey and why is it being linked to banning calf exports? Just some of the questions whizzing round Ian Potter's mind.... ...

EU News: EU commissioner sets out her thoughts on milk future.
June 7, 2007... EU farm commissioner, Marian Fischer Boel, is determined to change the shape of the European dairy industry. She told Richard Wright quotas are going - with no ifs or buts. But she does not want to change the regions where milk is produced in...

CAP won't be biggest spender.(European Union to reimburse CAP budget)(Brief article)
June 7, 2007... From next year the CAP will no longer be the biggest area of EU spending. This was confirmed when the Commission published its 2008 budget plans. The CAP budget will be in line with the spending ceiling set by EU heads of state at E56.3bn,...

UK is missing out on world dairy price boom.
June 7, 2007... It may not be reflected in the UK milk industry - but world dairy prices are still at record levels. Allowing for inflation these boom conditions have not been seen in a generation. They reflect supply problems in the southern hemisphere...

German producers take to the streets in protest.(dairy farmers threaten strike for rise in milk prices)(Brief article)
June 7, 2007... German dairy farmers have taken to the streets in large numbers to protest and have threatened a milk strike if prices do not improve. Farmers say they want a 40% increase in milk prices to the equivalent of 27 pence a litre. They say that...

Breeding: Bilsrow Jock is flying high.
June 7, 2007... The May Holstein sire proof run has produced a number of good second crop performances as well as a couple of promising UK proven first timers. Angela Rhodes reports. This has been a good proof run for British proven and second crop sires...

Breeding: Type toppers.(Brief article)
June 7, 2007... Long time leader Mesland Duplex has lost his place at the head of the Type rankings as Canadian second crop sire Braedale Goldwyn takes over. This son of Shoremar James tops the Canadian LPI and Type rankings and is not only top on Type here...

Breeding: Are we breeding the right cows to meet demands of future?
June 7, 2007... We are constantly making new demands on our cows as they are forced to adapt to modern high throughput systems and robotic parlours. Ann Hardy talks to the MDC geneticists about whether today's breeding selection will produce the right cows to...

Breeding: Website.
June 7, 2007... Bulls can be ranked on production, health and fitness traits on the MDC breeding+ website. Get to the bull lists through www.mdc.org.uk; choose breeding information and breeding+; then select your breed and the type of report. Click on the...

Letter: You're overlooking the obvious.(Letter to the editor)
June 7, 2007... From: Steve Oultram, chairman, Cattle Services (Ayr) Ltd, KA7 1XB. I refer to the feature in the May edition on extended grazing systems.It amazes me that the obvious answer to breeding trouble free cows better suited to these systems...

Letter: Breeding right type of cow for grazing systems.(Letter to the editor)
June 7, 2007... From: Robert Hassell, general manager LIC (UK) Ltd. I was most interested to read Angela Rhodes' article on breeding (Dairy Farmer, May 2007), and want to challenge some of the assumptions made in that article because they appear to be...

Breeding: Genetics will play big part in pushing down cell counts.
June 7, 2007... High and fluctuating cell counts are the bane of most producers' lives especially with bonus payments dependent on keeping SCCs under control. Increasing herd size and more stress on cows and staff means that genetics, not management, hold the...

Breeding: No regrets about making the change to red-and-whites.
June 7, 2007... Prior to the foot-and-mouth epidemic the Simpsons were milking British Friesians, but on re-stocking they found it difficult to source the same breed and it was only during their searching that they first came across the Montbeliarde. Jennifer...

Milk prices: Milk Link setting pace for other two co-ops to follow.
June 7, 2007... Of the three major co-ops, Milk Link appears to date to have produced the better producer milk price increases from Apr'07, with standard and organic milk increasing by 0.75ppl, and London Liquid and Channel Island contracts increasing by...

Milk prices: First Milk increase of 0.3ppl.
June 7, 2007... First Milk has increased its Apr'07 milk price by an average of 0.3ppl, based on returns from the liquid market, with a further 0.15ppl increase from May resulting from increased returns from whey and milk powder markets. At the same time...

Milk prices: Balancing charge on BADP.
June 7, 2007... Arla Foods has confirmed a 3ppl balancing charge on all litres supplied in excess of an individual's BADP (Base Annual Daily Production) for Apr'07. Our standard 1mltr producer who produced 2,931ltrs/day - with the RPA reporting provisional...

DFB price rise is put on hold.
June 7, 2007... Dairy Farmers of Britain has confirmed that current improvements in the company's trading position means that it will soon be able to raise the milk price to its conventional milk producing members. Any such milk price move is currently...

Wiseman set to increase 0.13ppl.
June 7, 2007... Robert Wiseman has confirmed it will hold an outstanding 0.4ppl reduction from May - based on lower cream values for the first quarter of this year - paving the way clear for a further 0.13ppl increase as a result of concluding price increase...

Arla Foods to increase 0.4ppl.
June 7, 2007... Negotiations between AFMP and Arla Foods to restore the 0.7ppl balancing charge - deducted from Jun'06 - has concluded in the company agreeing to increase the AFMP milk price by 0.4ppl from Jun'07. The result is said to be part of a...

Workshop tips: Getting geared up for treating foot problems.
June 7, 2007... Anyone keeping cows will sooner or later need to lift the odd foot and that requires a proper handling facility. Mike Donovan shows how we can make and modify our own cattle crush. There's never a good time to go through the cows' feet,...

Good Evans: How tractor seat gave me bit of a funny turn.
June 7, 2007... Apart from worrying about the milk price, Roger Evans has been trying out his latest tractor and there are a few new gizmos which he hadn't fully reckoned on. I discover that, come the autumn, should we all be spared until then, I have...